Hands On With The T-Mobile w233 Renew

T-Mobile's w233 Renew is made entirely from recycled water bottles (really) and is itself 100% recyclable.

Even in a struggling economy, companies are still going green. The T-Mobile Renew, made by Motorola, is a slim phone made entirely from recycled water bottles (really) and is itself 100% recyclable. The white and green phone is extremely light at just three ounces—holding it feels more like you are using a USB keydrive than a phone. It is "carbon free" in that it is not harmful to the environment if you, for example, leave it at the park or run over it with your car. The phone even comes with an envelope to send your old phone in for recycling.

This new emerging trend of "disposable" cell phones has a slight downside, however. The screen on the phone is not exactly a stunner—it looks like a first gen Nokia with slightly jagged text—and Motorola has not added any compelling brand new features. It does have a microSD slot, a music player, speakerphone, predictive text, and the Motorola CrystalTalk technology to improve reception at crowded trade show events.

For a truly remarkable greentech product to succeed, it may need several new compelling features to draw consumers to the idea of not wreaking havoc on our planet.

Available in February, 2009.